This morning, a coalition coordinating with Mortgage Fraud NC, Occupy Raleigh, Save Our Homes and Occupy Greensboro and Take Back the Land defended the home of the Shelton family in Raleigh.

Today we saw a great outpouring of community support to keep the Shelton's in their home, as people were moved to use non-violent civil disobedience to raise the demand of housing as a human right and make visible the real culprit in this matter: Wells Fargo and their criminal mortgage practices.

About an hour ago, the police and SWAT team arrested anywhere between 6-15 people (reports vary). There is a press conference scheduled for 3:30 at the Magistrate's office in Raleigh to demand justice for those who acted boldly to stop the banks from using an illegal foreclosure to evict the Shelton's.

Please make your voice heard and join the press conference. It's last minute so spread the word.

A family in Raleigh has been evicted and forced from their home through an illegal foreclosure. They have been ordered to remove all personal property from their home by Sunday April 8, 2012. The family has bravely chosen to fight eviction and foreclosure and is requesting community support. Evidence of robo-signing by the bank, which is a fraud, has been uncovered and the entire foreclosure process is under attorney review.

It is up to us to send a clear message that we will not allow this to happen.

On Monday, April 9th, community participants will enter the house and refuse to leave as an act of civil disobedience. Another 10 families in this predominantly African-American neighborhood are facing similarly illegal foreclosure and eviction.

A coalition coordinating with Max Rameau of Take Back the Land and including; Mortgage Fraud NC, Occupy Raleigh, Save Our Homes and Occupy Greensboro are quickly mounting a public protest and home defense. The objectives of this action are: We demand that Nicole and her family be allowed to reclaim possession of their home. We call for a NATIONAL MORATORIUM on all foreclosures, evictions, and utility shut-offs. We demand that banks negotiate loan modifications that include principal reduction. We call for the creation of a community land trust.

This foreclosure eviction protest is one of a growing movement across the country. Take Back the Land, the Occupy movement and others are partnering with homeowners to demand that housing be recognized as a human right. In the last year, successful eviction resistance has been used nationally from Los Angeles to Atlanta and Washington DC. This will be the first use of civil disobedience in defense of foreclosed homes in North Carolina.